Environment-friendly golf ball

ABSTRACT

An environment-friendly golf ball includes a core body, a bonding material, and a cover for enclosing the core body. The core body is made of a dissoluble material, which is mixed with the bonding material at a predetermined ratio, so as to make the dissoluble material become an aggregation of specific shape. The shaped structure is steamed and solidified, so as to eliminate the water in the structure. The cover is molded from a dissoluble molding and covering material. The whole structure is water dissoluble and becomes the food of marine life and would not cause pollution to environmental ecology when the golf ball falls into water and could not be collected.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a structure made of a dissoluble material, and more particularly to an environment-friendly golf ball made of a dissoluble material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A golf ball in the early stage generally includes a solid rubber core, over which tough twisted rubber threads are tightly wound, and dimples are provided on an outer layer of the golf ball to reduce wind resistance, so that a rotating speed and flying orbit of the golf ball can be more easily and actively controlled. Later, golf ball cores made of different materials, such as softwood, lead, mercury, etc., have been developed. The various designs aim to make the golf ball hit farther and easier for control.

There are many golf balls of prior art. For example, Taiwan Utility Model Publication No. M252453 discloses a golf ball having a solid ball core and a cover which comprises a first half s hemispheric cup and a second half hemispheric cup attached to the first half hemispheric cup to form a hollow spheroid for covering the solid ball core. Each of the first and second hemispheric cups has two semi-conical engagement edges fittingly engaged with two semi-conical connection edges of the other hemispheric cup so as to integrally unite the first hemispheric cup and the second hemispheric cup together to form the ball cover. The first and the second half hemispheric cup are symmetrical and identical in dimension and shape, so that they could be combined into one integral cover.

No matter how the golf balls have been improved in their structure during the past years, they are always made of an indissoluble material. When the small and light golf balls are hit and fall into woods or water, it is not easy to locate and collect all the lost golf balls, and some of them might be left in the woods or water. Since the golf balls are made of non-biodegradable material, they become a burden on the environment.

Most golf courses are located at hillsides and hilltops having beautiful sights. There are also golf courses built near seashore or on an ocean liner. A golf player may enjoy the fun of hitting balls in a large and wide area. However, not all the golf balls having been hit out and lost can be found and collected, particularly when the golf balls are so small and light, and when the player is a green learner.

For the golf course on an ocean liner, the golf balls hit out and fallen into water might finally become part of the beach drift to spoil the sights at seashore, or even be swallowed by marine life to endanger and cause pollution to the ecological environment.

Once the golf balls are lost and not collected, the rubber or other non-biodegradable materials used to make the golf balls do not degrade naturally and not biodegrade with time to form permanent rubbish.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an environment-friendly golf ball, which is made of a naturally degradable material instead of a rubber material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an environment-friendly golf ball having a core body made of a dissoluble material. When the golf ball is fallen into water and is not retrieved, the core body dissolves to become food for marine life and would not damage the environment.

Moreover, the environment-friendly golf ball according to the present invention includes a cover made of a dissoluble molding and covering material to enclose the core body and thereby isolate the core body from external air to achieve the purpose of preservation, setting, and shaping. The dissoluble cover of the golf ball may be dissolved or biodegraded to form food for living things without causing pollution to the ecological environment.

With the technical means adopted by the present invention, the lost and not collected golf balls would automatically dissolve or degrade without endangering people's living environment.

To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an environment-friendly golf ball comprising a core body, a bonding material and a cover for enclosing the core body. The core body is made of a dissoluble material, which is mixed with the bonding material at a predetermined ratio, so as to make the dissoluble material become an aggregation of desired shape. The shaped structure is steamed and solidified, in order to eliminate the water in the shaped structure. The cover is made of dissoluble molding and covering material. The dissoluble molding and covering material is heated and melted, and coated to the surface of the shaped structure. The whole structure is then molded to form a golf ball. In another embodiment, the dissoluble molding and covering material is molded into two semispherical cups, aligned with to each other and closed to form a complete cover for enclosing the core body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the steps for forming an environment-friendly golf ball according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a molded core body for the environment-friendly golf ball of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an environment-friendly golf ball according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded sectional view of an environment-friendly golf ball according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the steps for forming the environment-friendly golf ball according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 1 that is a flow chart showing the steps for forming an environment-friendly golf ball according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a dissoluble material is pulverized into powder (Step 101), and a bonding material is mixed with the powdered dissoluble material at a predetermined ratio (Step 102). The mixed materials are shaped into an aggregated structure having a desired shape (Step 103). The mixed, aggregated, and shaped material is pressurized, so that oil contained in the material, e.g. soybean oil, is released therefrom (Step 104). Thereafter, the shaped structure is subjected to steaming and then allowed to solidify, so that water contained in the shaped structure is vaporized (Step 105).

Then, a dissoluble molding and covering material is heated and melted to liquid state (Step 106), which is coated to the surface of the shaped structure obtained in step 105 (Step 107). The shaped material coated with the dissoluble molding and covering material is then molded into a golf ball having a desired shape (Step 108).

Please refer to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. FIG. 2 is schematic view showing a molded core body for the environment-friendly golf ball of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the environment-friendly golf ball. FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3. The golf ball formed through the above-described steps includes a core body 1, a bonding material 2, and an outer cover 3. The core body 1 is made of a dissoluble material 11, which is mainly a starchy material and may be selected from the group consisting of soybean powder, corn powder, rice bran powder, green bean powder, and cereals.

The bonding material 2 is mixed with the dissoluble material 11 for forming the core body 1 at a predetermined ratio, and then the mixed materials are aggregated and shaped. Wherein, the bonding material 2 is selected from the group consisting of glutinous rice flour and sweet potato flour. Preferably, the dissoluble material 11 for forming the core body 1 and the bonding material 2 are mixed at a ratio of 30:8 by weight. The mixed materials after compression shall have a weight about 34 g. When the dissoluble material 11 has been pulverized and mixed with the bonding material 2, the mixed materials are pressurized to release oil contained therein, and then steamed and allowed to solidify, so that water contained in the mixed material is vaporized to complete the core body 1.

The cover 3 is made of a dissoluble molding and covering material, such as gelatin. The gelatin is heated to liquefy into liquid state. The liquid gelatin is applied over the core body 1 to isolate an interior of the core body 1 from air, so as to achieve the effects of preservation, setting, etc. Finally, the core body 1 coated with the dissoluble molding and covering material is molded to form a finish product of the environment-friendly golf ball according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the environment-friendly golf ball of the present invention, the core body 1 and the cover 3 are made of dissoluble materials. When the dissoluble molding and covering material forming the cover 3 is in water and dissolved, the dissoluble material 11 forming the core body 1 inside the cover 3 will also become dissolved in water soon. The water-dissolved materials form food for marine life without causing any pollution to environmental ecology.

Please refer to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is an exploded sectional view of an environment-friendly golf ball according to a second embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the steps for forming the environment-friendly golf ball. The environment-friendly golf ball according to another embodiment of the present invention is formed through the following steps. First, a dissoluble material 11 is pulverized into powder (Step 201), and a bonding material 2 is mixed with the powdered dissoluble material 11 at a predetermined ratio (Step 202). The mixed materials are shaped into an aggregated structure having a desired shape (Step 203). The mixed, aggregated, and shaped material is pressurized, so that oil substance contained in the material is released therefrom (Step 204). Thereafter, the shaped structure is subjected to steaming and then allowed to solidify, so that water contained in the shaped structure is vaporized to form the core body 1 (Step 205).

Then, a dissoluble molding and covering material is heated and melted to liquid state (Step 206). The liquid state dissoluble molding and covering material is then molded into two semispherical cups 3 a (Step 207), which are then aligned with and closed to each other to form a complete cover 31, in which the core body 1 obtained in the step 205 is enclosed before the two semispherical cups 3 a are combined together and set to form a golf ball having a desired shape (Step 208).

The core body 1 of the second embodiment is identical to that of the first embodiment. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the heated and dissolved dissoluble molding and covering material, such as gelatin, for forming the cover 31 is molded into two semispherical hollow cups 3 a, which are closed to each other to complete the cover 31 for enclosing the core body 1 therein. Similarly, the cover 31 is made of dissoluble molding and covering materials. When the golf ball is in water, the cover 31 is dissolved and the dissoluble material 11 forming the core body 1 inside the cover 31 will also become dissolved in water soon. The water-dissolved materials form food for marine life without causing any pollution to environmental ecology.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims. 

1. An environment-friendly golf ball, comprising: a core body, which is made of a dissoluble material; a bonding material, which is mixed with the dissoluble material for forming the core body at a predetermined ratio, and the mixed materials being aggregated and shaped; and a cover, which is made of dissoluble molding and covering material, and which is molded into a desired shape for enclosing the core body therein.
 2. The environment-friendly golf ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dissoluble material for forming the core body is selected from the group consisting of soybean powder, corn powder, rice bran powder, green bean powder, and cereals.
 3. The environment-friendly golf ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dissoluble material for forming the core body is mixed with the bonding material at a ratio of 30:8 by weight.
 4. The environment-friendly golf ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bonding material is selected from the group consisting of glutinous rice flour and sweet potato flour.
 5. The environment-friendly golf ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover is coated over the core body.
 6. The environment-friendly golf ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the molded cover includes two semispherical cups, which are closed to each other to complete the cover. 